82. The illusion of superiority

Dear Jan,

There are many differences between Eastern Europeans and the Dutch. The biggest difference that strikes me is that the Dutch think they are superior to Eastern Europeans while many Eastern Europeans have a positive attitude towards the Netherlands. The Netherlands and the Dutch have a positive image in Eastern Europe: cheese, windmills, the flat landscape, football, flowers and the royal family. All these things make Eastern Europeans think positively about The Netherlands.Many Dutch people who come to Eastern Europe feel superior and so try to tell the locals how and what needs to be done. Of course, this does not work, it doesn’t work anywhere. But I encounter this everywhere (even in Eastern Europe and among Eastern Europeans, let there be no misunderstanding.

I think if you are an entrepreneur or for that matter an employee, if you want to be successful you have to get rid of the illusion of being “superior”. And that is not easy. For we believe that we are right by definition and that others do and think crazy things. Everything which is different, we tend to find strange and inferior. Anything that does not go the way we think it should, we also tend to find inferior.

If you cannot get rid of these ideas you will be ruled by prejudices and assumptions and this will obscure your view of reality and judgment and the quality of your decisions and actions will decrease.

In addition, feeling superior has another adverse consequence. It implies that you feel inferior to others. And that will also hinder the quality of your decisions and undertakings.

I believe both are illusions. Nobody in this world is inferior or superior to anyone else. One can be richer or poorer, slightly better or slightly worse, healthy or sick, but there is no inferiority or superiority. If you are open-minded and non-judgmental as an entrepreneur and, in life generally, you will be much more successful in dealing with the people around you.

I see the effect every day around me with colleagues and clients. Those with delusions of superiority find it much harder to get along with the people around them than people who do not have this. I know sales people who feel superior to their clients and colleagues. However brilliant they are, ultimately these people will not be successful or will find it difficult to achieve success. Because in the end, nobody will want to deal with them. Modesty is a virtue for a good reason.

Regards,

Gerard